Top Ten Greatest Actors Who Died Too Young

Everybody goes to Hollywood to make a name for themselves. Whether they want to be actors and actresses, dancers, singers, songwriters or filmmakers, they all come to Hollywood dreaming about money, success, fame and power. These are young kids who are coming to Hollywood. They are just barely out of their teen years. They seen and heard of Hollywood from watching movies and reading books but they have no ideal how cruel Hollywood can be. They are so innocent. And Hollywood takes advantage of their innocence by introducing them to drugs, sex, rejection, pressure, hatred and death. There is a dark side of Hollywood. Its not all fun and glamour. These ten young actors now know about the dark side. But unforunately, they also lost their lives because of it.

James Dean
"Dream as if you'll live forever; live as if you'll die tomorrow."
"Only the gentle are ever really strong."
James Dean is immortalized in film history by his role in Rebel Without a Cause. He showed teen angst at it best. Every word that came out of his mouth had emotion and deft. His end came too soon for him and his fans. He died September 30, 1955 at the age of 24. He was driving his Porsche Spyder when he collided with another car. He died from his injuries. He was a rising star. Even though he had a short career in Hollywood, he made an lasting impression on everybody and on future generations. He is an icon and a legend.

Facts about Jimmy Dean:

He was not speeding at the time of his car accident.

Before he became famous, he worked on the game show "Beat the Clock" as a stunt tester.

He got a speeding ticket about two hours before his car accident.

His idol was Marlon Brando.

"The Little Prince" was his favorite book.

Rumored that his Porsche Spyder is cursed.

When he was younger, he got into a motorcycle accident. He lost his two front teeth from the accident.

Nicknamed "America's Rebel by Ronald Reagan.

Favorite drink: Coffee

Favorite ice cream: Coffe and raspberry flavors

Favorite music: Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra.

Favorite song: Billy Holiday's "When Your Lover Has Gone."

Favorite album: Sinatra's "Songs for Young Lovers."

He wore thick glasses because he was near-sighted.

2. River Phoenix
"I don't want to die in a car accident. When I die it'll be a glorious day. It'll probably be a waterfall."
River Phoenix started off as a successful child actor and blossomed into adult roles. He started his career with the television show Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. After that he landed several other roles on tv shows, he went on to star in the movie Explorers. He then went on to star in many other successful films like Stand By Me, Running on Empty, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. His greatest role was in the movie My Own Private Idaho which was directed by Gus Van Sant. The movie was about a young male hustler named Mike (River Phoenix) who suffers from narcolepsy. He is finding it hard day by day to go on with his life. He decides that he need to find his mother who abandoned him when he was a child. His friend Scott (played by Keanu Reeves) decides to help him find his mother. Now Scott is also a young male hustler but he comes from a rich family. The only reason he hustles is to embarass his rich daddy. So Mike and Scott go on a journey to find Mike's mother.

His other movies that he starred in was The Thing Called Love, Little Nikita, Silent Tongue, Sneakers, Dogfight, I Love You to Death and A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.
He is considered one of the most talented actors ever. His life came to an end on October 31,1993. He overdosed outside of the Viper Room (owned by Johnny Depp). He was only 23 years old. His life ended before it could truly begin.

Facts about River:

River Jude Phoenix Bottom

He was a vegan, animal rights activist and environmentalist.

He was a part of the band Aleka's Attic with his sister Rain Phoenix.

He was meant to play the interviewer in Interview with the Vampire. Christian Slater was given the role. He gave his entire paycheck to River's favorite charities.

Siblings are Joaquin, Summer, Rain and Liberty Phoenix.

He dated Martha Plimpton and Samantha Mathis.

He hated to fly.

Rumored that his last words was "No paparazzi. I want anonymity."

He bought hundreds of acres of rain forest in Costa Rica and Brazil.

He collected basketball jerseys.

He drank warm soda before going on camera.

He had a vision that he would meet and marry his future wife in the year 2002. He carried a sketch of what she looked like from his vision.

He was a chain smoker.

He was going to stopped making movies after his final film Dark Blood so he could work with his dad in a restaurant.

He spoke Spanish.

Best friend was Keanu Reeves.

Spanish and Russian-Hungarian heritage.

Named after the river of life in Harmann Hesse's classic novel "Siddhartha" and The Beatles' song "Hey Jude."

3. Heath Ledger
"I'm still a kid. I'm like six years old. But it's just a matter of wanting to get up, it's just a big journey. I felt like when I left home that I was on a journey, and I still am."

I remember watching 10 Things I Hate About You and wondering who is this cute Australian boy? I found out that his name was Heath Ledger. I knew you was going to be somebody with a name like that and a face like his. But he was more than just a pretty face. he could act as well. Every character he played, he played them with perfection. Once he got into each of his roles in his movies, he became the character. He starred in so many memorable movies like Monster's Ball, Brokeback Mountain, I'm Not There, The Patriot and The Dark Knight. He died on January 22, 2008 of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. He will be missed by everyone he touched by his movies.

Facts about Health:
Nickname is Heathy

Trademark is his deep, husky voice.

Name after a character in Emily Bronte novel, "Wuthering Heights."

He dated Heather Graham from 2000 to 2001.

Dated Naomi Watts from 2002 to 2004.

Irish and Scottish ancestry

His daughter is named Matilda Rose, who he had with his former fiancee Michelle Williams.

Jake Gyllenhaal is Matilda's godfather. Busy Philipps is Matilda's godmother.

Heath was mentored by actor Martin Henderson.

He was the first non-American and the youngest actor to be cast as the Joker in a Batman film.

He was Elizabeth Hurley's son Damien godfather.

He suffered from shyness.

He had a pet Kangaroo.

He loved risotto.

4. Sharon Tate
"My definition of love is being full. Complete. It makes everything lighter. Beauty is something you see. Love is something you feel."
I have one question. Have you seen Valley of the Dolls? If you haven't, watch it to see Sharon Tate. You'll understand why everybody fell in love with her. She was born on January 24, 1943 in Dallas, Texas. Everybody knew she would be a star. She was even voted as Homecoming Queen at her high school. She lived in Italy for while because her father was in the military. In Italy, she start out as an extra for a few Italian films. Then she came to Hollywood. She started off as being an extra then she got her big break on the tv show "The Beverly Hillbillies." She was later cast in the movie Dance of the Vampires where met her husband and also the director of the movie, Roman Polanski. She went on to star in the iconic film Valley of the Dolls which made her an household name. She starred in several other movies until her death in 1969. She was murdered by members of the Manson family. She was also pregnant at the time of her death. Even though she was murder by the insanest cult in history. She will always be remember for the beauty that she was.

Facts about Sharon:
Was considered one of the most beautiful women in Holloywood.

She was very active in high school. She was a cheerleader, baton twirler, and basketball player.

Kept little jars of vaseline for her lips in her car.

Distant cousin of Dennis Quaid and Randy Quaid.

Was close friends with Patty Duke and Barbara Parkins.

Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" is the last book she read. Roman Polanski made the film Tess and dedicated to her.

5. Freddie Prinze
Natural born comedian. He started out working at the Improv Club in New York while he was still in high school. But he had to dropped out of high school to focus on being an comedian full time. His big break came when he was invited on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Right after he appeared on the talk show, he was cast as "Chico Rodriquez" on the NBC show "Chico and the Man." And about a year after that he got married and had a son who he named Freddie Prinze Jr. He was living a good life. He was at the top of his career at a very young age. But everything seemed to fall apart for him. He got addicted to drugs. He was arrested for DUI. His marriage was falling apart. He fell deeper and deeper into depression. He committed suicide by firing a .32 caliber pistol at his head. He didn't die immediately. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. But after 12 hours of being in a coma, his family decided to take him off of life support. He died on January 29, 1977. He was a shooting star. But the price of fame shot him down.

Facts about Freddie:
He changed his last name from Pruetzel to Prinze because he was the "Prince of Comedy" like Bob Hope was the "King of Comedy."

His last performance was at Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Ball.

6. Rebecca Schaeffer

She started off a career modeling at the age of 16 in New York. She got notice and landed a role on "My Sister Sam" in 1986. She was also a spokesperson a charity for trouble teens called Thursday's Child. She was the "It girl" of the late 80's. She was becoming famous. She had lots of fans. But one certain fan took it too far. A young man about her age dressed up like a flower delivery guy and pretended to deliver flowers for her at her house. He shot in the chest and the bullet hit her heart. She died immediately. The man had many psychological problems. And because there were no anti-stalking laws or any laws protecting the privacy of celebrities, he had no trouble finding her home address and everything single detail about her life. Now there are laws protecting the privacy of celebrities. Her murder also made stalking into a felony in California. There are also anti-stalking laws in many states. Even though her life was cut short, she made an huge impact on so many trouble teens.

7. Jon-Erik Hexum
"I feel it is a great fortune to have some passion in life and an urgency in direction; it makes our whole being so much fuller."

He was the "next big thing" in the 80's. He had the looks and all the talent in the world. He was offered roles left and right. He was offered roles on The Dukes of Hazzard and CHiPs but he turned them down. He made his debut on the show Voyagers. He soon follwed it up in the movie Making of a Male Model with Joan Collins. He then was cast on the tv series Cover Up. One day on the set of his new television show, he was feeling exhausted and bored after a long day of shooting. He grabbed a prop gun and jokingly put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. The gun fired. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. He was pronounced brain dead. So one week later after the incident, his family took him off of life support. He died on October 18, 1984. He lost his life but he saved five other lives because he was an organ donor.

8. Brandon Lee
"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."

Brandon Lee is the son of Bruce Lee. Now Brandon never wanted to be remembered as just the son of Bruce Lee. He wanted to be remember for his acting. He got his wish. He starred in the cult classic The Crow which was his final film. He died on the set from a faulty prop gun. He will always be remembered for his role in The Crow. One of the greatest actors who could of been something more.

9. Jonathan Brandis
"However, I hope I am also judged on my accomplishments as an actor and not just on my pretty face!"
Jonathan Brandis was a teen idol. Teenie boppers drooling over him in The Neverending Story Part ll, Ladybugs, Sidesicks, and SeaQuest DSV. But as he got older, it got harder and harder to shake his teen bopper image. Everytime he was rejected for a movie role, he sunk deeper and deeper in depression. It was too much for him to take. He died on November 12, 2003 by hanging himself.

10. Brad Renfro
"If you've never tried drugs, DON'T. And if you have, pray."

Brad Renfro was the IT kid of the 90's. He starred in hit movies such as The Client, The Cure, Tom and Huck, Sleepers, and Apt Pupil. He even won "The Hollywood Reporter's Young Star Award" in 1995. But it all went spiraling down hill when he was arrested for having cocaine and marijuana on him in 1998. He was arrested several times after that for theft and DUI. He made several other movies but none of them match the success of his earlier films. He died on January 15th of an drug overdose. He had so much talent but drugs ruined his life and career.

Facts about Brad
He had a son.
Jimmy Page was his idol.
Auditioned for the movie The Patriot but the role went to Heath Ledger. He also died from an drug overdose one week after Brad's death.